Who would have thought that a harmless product would contribute the heat effect in Mumbai in Mesopotamia 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia? Glass: It is here and everywhere, not only in our houses, but also in our city. If the place is with such a premium, high risks become the norm. And these skyscrapers are increasingly have facades made of glass.
But glass is not the only culprit. Thermal resistance should inform the way we design our buildings. However, it often takes a back seat because developers prioritize faster construction methods and maximize the number of apartments over long -term sustainability.
Only a few of the existing rules for development control and funding regulations (DCPR) for Mumbai help to build up the thermal resilience, but most of them are not mandatory. What are some of the changes required to minimize heat exposure?
Glass building: thermal traps?
Studies show that reflective glass walls of buildings have a significant impact on the surrounding temperatures. Sameer More, a civil engineer who worked on the construction of buildings with glass facades, says that they are inspired by the American architecture. You work well there due to the cold climate. But glass is not an ideal material for the hot and moist conditions of Mumbai.
He explains that fully transparent glass facades not only heat the outside, but also the interior. They simulate the greenhouse effect and catch heat inside. In the case of a cascade effect, a higher load on the air conditioning system releases more heat into the environment. The energy requirement of the building also increases.
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On the other hand, reflective or tinted glass absorbs some light, can occur part of the light and reflect part of it. This heats the interior and causes a look on the outside, which increases the outside temperature. Plus the glass is heated up.
The architect Surna Dwivedi, who is in climate science, says that builders prefer glass, as this enables faster construction and demolition. She carried out a vegetation outside of glass buildings using heat cameras. She found that the heat that goes out of the buildings does not allow trees to survive.
Alternative measures
Harshad Bhatia, urban designer and architect, agrees with her. “Glass facades are not allowed to start east or west in summer, since the sun moves the sun from the south side of the sun from the south side. And in the north facade we get the northern light. That means they have no direct sunlight, but they have light for them to work inside.”
The only criterion mentioned in the DCPR is that the material used for the construction of the corridors, stairs and facades should be fire -resistant. But there are no restrictions on the type of material to be used. Commercial and office buildings not only use glass facades, but also residential buildings and even schools now choose them.
Harthad says that it would be ideal to use natural materials for construction or even humans produced materials such as bricks that use natural material. But he also admits that these materials have their own restrictions. The consumption of building materials is very high today. The delivery of such a material may not be able to keep up with the demand and especially with the bricks.
APARNA suggests that the walls should be thick, or apart from the fact that they should have cavities that do not allow heat. According to them, this reduces the load on the cooling systems.
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Necessity of open spaces
The architect Shriya Bhatia emphasizes that thermal resistance in buildings depends on two key factors: the building covering, which acts as a barrier between indoor and outdoor spaces, and the outer environment that influences the heating and binding.
She says: “There should be development control regulations for the area outdoors.”
The DCPR regulation 27 states how much of a diagram must be maintained as a recreation building when a building is built, depending on the size of the property:
| Area of the property | Percentage of the recreational grounds |
| Area of 1001 m² to 2500 m². | 15% |
| Area of 2501 m² to 10,000 m² | 20% |
| Area over 10,000 m² | 25% |
The regulations also stipulate that five trees are grown per 100 square meters of the leisure area. Shriya believes that the DCPR does not mention the number of trees, but also the type of vegetation and the trees can grow in these open rooms, as this directly influences the water requirements.
A restriction of this regulation is that if the total area of the recreation areas exceeds 4,000 square meters, certain structures can be constructed on it. These structures can include electric substations, pump houses, pavilions, high schools and swimming pools.
Avoid specifying
In order to ensure water compression, 60% of the leisure room must be directly on the floor and not on a podium. This area is free of paved surfaces. A podium enables a podium to be built on the rest of the 40% of the recreational site.
However, a BMC official informed us that these numbers are currently not applicable to new building proposals, since this regulation was challenged before the court. The petent has asked to be 100% of the reasons for recreation (mother earth) without a podium. According to the BMC official, 100% of the reasons for recreation are currently being maintained on Mother Earth until the court's decision.
Podium introduces concrete surfaces into the recreation area. Concrete surfaces absorb heat and radiate it back into the area. In addition, the surface temperature is a significant driver for the atmospheric temperature. Instead, APARNA proposes that these open rooms are kept completely green so that water prevails. This will cool down the outer environment when water evaporates from the ground.
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Design for warmer resilience
The outer environment of the building includes both horizontal surfaces such as open rooms, parks, terrace, etc. as well as vertical surfaces such as the walls of the building. Terraces and roof area absorb a lot of warmth. In the summer months, the residents of the apartment under the terrace carry the main load. In fact, people prefer not to buy such apartments due to the heating of the terrace and the risk of leakage. Roof gardens are a heat reduction measure. The DCPR according to the chapter “General building requirements” allows this, provided that an effective water dismissal was carried out.
When designing the building, it is important to measure the heat that is generated by both horizontal and vertical surfaces, the path of the sun is taken into account. In addition, the material used on the outer surface of the building, such as. B. colors and surfaces, also the temperature. Harthad says that the sun path must be taken into account when deciding on the material used on a certain side of the building. He says: “But these guidelines are not available. At the moment it is the designer, developer and the orientation of the action.” He adds that facade designs have to be carried out at a holistic, comprehensive city level.
Shriya also observes other changes in the constructions in the newer constructions. Where older houses had ventilation devices over windows, they remove new designs. In addition, the height of the rooms is significantly reduced from floor to ceiling. All of this contributes to the heat in houses.
She observes that the rooms in new constructions have fewer volume. “Volume also helps to minimize the heat. Due to the height, hot air rises and then the ventilation devices for the hot air.” The DCPR has set the minimum height to nine foot. Although the maximum height can be up to 13.77 feet, the builders choose the minimally possible height to maximize the number of houses they can build.
The BMC official we spoke to said that there are certain regulations in the DCPR that are designed to make the buildings heat -resistant. But some of them are not mandatory. For example, the regulation 70 of the DCPR states that the client can receive certification from the Indian Green Building Code (IGBC)/Energy Conservation Building Conservation Code (ECBC). He added that current changes for thermal resistance to the DCPR are not on the horizon.
When the climate crisis is tightened, our houses and jobs have to adapt to the associated circulation, be it extreme heat or even floods. In addition, the technology also develops quickly, as Harshad emphasizes. The DCPR must tackle these problems and make changes to the rules to combat heat stress.
What experts suggest that the DCPR has to include to promote heat -resistant buildings:
- Limit the use of glass in buildings and mandate heat resiling materials.
- Increase the percentage of recreational reasons with natural soil and vegetation.
- Promote the roof gardens and thick/cavity walls to minimize the heat absorption.
- Have appropriate guidelines for tree plantations and urban shading solutions.
- Promotion of the use of sustainable materials for construction.